Chapter 70: The Bizarre Core Component

Just as everyone's attention was focused on the newly arrived Justin Hammer and Heinrich, a clear and bright voice, characteristic of a young man, came from the other side.

"Pardon me, the two of you arrived and I should have gone out to greet you in person. I was just adjusting the equipment and about to set off, never expecting you both to arrive so soon."

Dressed in a sharp suit, Luca walked toward them with long strides, his face beaming with warmth and approachability.

However, seeing Luca approach, Justin's expression remained completely unchanged. After giving Luca a hard-to-read, scrutinizing glance, she merely gave a cool nod. Without saying a word, she immediately put on an aloof posture that kept people at a distance of a thousand miles.

This attitude left even Luca slightly puzzled, wondering what was going on in her head that she insisted on making the trip herself just to attend this internal test.

Heinrich, on the other hand, was quite warm toward Luca. Wearing a gentle smile, he stepped forward a couple of times, gently patted Luca on the shoulder, and said with a hint of emotion:

"No need to be so formal."

"My personal friendship with your parents has always been good. I didn't manage to make it to Hermann's funeral earlier either... really, it is I who should apologize to you."

Heinrich's words were extremely gentle, perfectly projecting the demeanor of an elder who felt guilty and cared deeply about Luca. It matched the warm attitude Luca had displayed very well.

Yet at this moment, Luca looked into Heinrich's eyes with a rather peculiar expression, and even the words he intended to say next stalled slightly. Although he immediately concealed it with an unruffled demeanor, Heinrich, standing right in front of him, naturally could not miss it.

With a somewhat strange expression, Heinrich touched his slightly wrinkled cheek and asked Luca with mild awkwardness:

"Is there something on my face?"

As he spoke, he purposely glanced at Justin Hammer beside him and said teasingly:

"How come Miss Hammer didn't remind me along the way~"

Toward Heinrich, Justin's attitude was noticeably much better. Knowing he was only joking, she cooperated and gave a response:

"Nothing is stuck. I suppose Mr. Orange was just momentarily dazed seeing you, an elder he hasn't seen in a long time."

Quickly regaining his composure, Luca decisively went along with the opening Justin Hammer had provided.

"Heh, it really has been a while since I last saw Uncle Heinrich. I remember that was back at the Orange family banquet a year ago."

Hearing Luca use the title 'Uncle', the smile on Heinrich's face deepened even further, and he even began to make a joke at his own expense.

"Hahaha, I never expected that an old man like me would ever be more eye-catching than a great beauty like Miss Hammer. The last time something like that happened was probably back at my college graduation ball."

"I'm getting old, getting old. Back in the day, I was quite the prominent figure in the fraternity, you know."

Hearing this, the people nearby obligingly offered a few smiles and flattering remarks. Justin Hammer merely covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.

Luca then timely ushered these people to their seats.

"Uncle Heinrich and Miss Hammer, you may rest here for a moment. Please excuse me for a moment."

"The preparations over there are nearly complete, and the upcoming presentation should begin shortly."

With a apologetic look, Luca departed first, and naturally, no one else had any objections to this.

However, once Luca had left, Justin Hammer took two steps back to put a little distance between herself and the others, speaking quietly to Heinrich beside her:

"What do you think? Weren't you people quite optimistic about him? Why didn't you chat a bit more?"

At this moment, Heinrich's gentle smile remained, and he even picked up a champagne flute, raising it from afar to greet other familiar guests in the distance. Yet his tone was far from as warm as before, turning instead chillingly calm.

"A few words don't reveal much. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the upcoming product test."

"Besides, it's not that *I* am optimistic about him; it's just that those who *are* optimistic about him require me to observe and evaluate his qualifications."

While they were speaking, several other familiar guests holding wine glasses approached from afar to greet them, and the two of them decisively closed their mouths, acting as if no prior conversation had taken place.

In truth, the departing Luca in the distance also wore no trace of his previous polite facade. Not because Luca had noticed their prior disguise—well, actually, he *did* notice that too. But in the business world, wearing a false mask during human interaction was the most normal thing in the world. So what Luca cared about was not this.

It was just that a moment ago, when Luca had walked close to the two of them, he had noticed something astonishing: Heinrich, the financial representative and old acquaintance of his parents, had his left eye emitting a faint white fluorescence!!

Indeed, Luca hadn't been looking at the man's face at all just then; his entire line of sight had been drawn by that white-glowing left eye. Moreover, judging by everyone else's attitude, that white light clearly did not exist in the eyes of others.

Luca was entirely too familiar with this sort of situation.

*What is going on here? Can a human eyeball also be classified as a core component?*

*Just what kind of synthetic item would this make? It couldn't possibly turn out to be some flesh-and-blood prop like a Warlock's Eye, could it?*

As Luca walked toward the equipment room at the edge of the venue, various wild thoughts flashed through his mind, though he immediately reasoned with himself.

*Could that guy's left eye actually be some kind of prosthetic?*

Luca carefully recalled the scene from earlier. It indeed seemed that the white light emanated only from the eyeball of the man's left eye, while the areas covered by the upper and lower eyelids looked completely normal. This was why Luca hadn't noticed the white light in the man's eyes until he had walked right up to him. Just like when he had discovered the core components of the [Tracking Glasses]—as long as the glasses were kept inside their case, Luca couldn't perceive them at all. When the man smiled and squinted his eyes, the white light of the eyeball naturally became even less conspicuous.

*However, I've never heard of Heinrich injuring his left eye before, have I?*

Heinrich saying he was well-acquainted with Luca's parents was no lie. As friends of over a decade, if such a thing truly existed, Gina and Hermann would surely have known something about it.

*And with that level of realism? Is it really a fake eye?*

Unfortunately, Big White was still at home guarding Gina and hadn't been brought along by Luca today. Nor could he casually step up and ask, "May I touch your eyeball?" just to trigger the cheat-sheet interface.

Trying to figure out why the other person's left eye was judged as a core component by the cheat sheet was probably going to be impossible in the short term. Luca could only make a mental note of it for now. After all, today's most important task was showcasing the weapons.